I'm not your son, yet
by 05alex29hammy51
Summary: When Alex runs away from his 7th foster house, he turns to the streets. When he is found by a police officer and sent to another house, how will he get on with the Washingtons and their foster son Lafayette? And will they accept him for who he is, or try to change him and make him a perfect child? This is my first story so please try it. Should update weekly :)
1. Chapter 1: alexander hamilton,my name is

Chapter 1

Alex woke up, cold and tired. He struggled to his feet and checked the moon, seeing how long he had before he had to move on. Nearly an hour. He could deal with that. He sat back down against the back of the pub, tired, exhausted really despite having just woken. It wasn't enough. It was never enough. The New York streets were quiet. But that was to be expected at 3:30 in the morning. He knew the pub manager would be back at 4:30 and had to be gone by then.

By 4:15 he had gotten to his feet, carrying his small backpack and set off. He felt like a snail, his home, clothes and entire life kept in a small bag on his back. He set off, hoping to cover at least 10 streets by the time he had to stop. There was a pub near there, and he had to make it. He started walking, dragging his left leg behind him even as he heard the click in the lock that said the manager had opened the pub and would catch him for tramping in minutes. He stumbled along; barely walking his leg was so twisted. As he walked, he thought.

His thoughts were erratic and crowded, his mind a small room but someone kept shoving more and more in until he drowned in the guilt and memories. Cold rooms, dark lonely nights, days that seemed to stretch forever, down in the pitch black of someone's basement.

He woke up as the first rays of sun hit his eyes. He jumped to his feet, biting back a scream as his leg moved, bone grinding on bone he gasped in pain. It had to be at least 7am. He had only made it two streets and needed to reach 15th soon if he was to have any hope of sleep today. Not that he wanted to sleep, or rather, not that he wanted the memories that plagued his mind to have any more of an opportunity to fill him in vivid 3D worlds that he had left behind. It seemed that running physically away wasn't enough; his mind kept bringing him back again.

 _One more year. One year and I'm 18 and don't have to live in this system. I can get a job; I can walk out of the shadows._ But at the same time, a year was a long way away.

He limped along, trying to ignore the stares he brought from the other civilians. His hoodie and long pants covered most of his body but nothing could hide his twisted leg and face. He just looked down at the ground and tried to ignore the looks of horror that bored into him as he walked.

After nearly 3 hours, he made it to 15th and sat down against the wall of the pub. After being picked up twice for tramping, he had learned the best place to hide was near pubs, where one more person sleeping off their hangover didn't seem out of the ordinary. It was the perfect hiding spot. He stayed there for a few hours, trying to sleep but at the same time wanting to never sleep again, to never give his memories the power to occupy his entire mind and destroy him. He sat and just silently cried, hoping to deal with the memories now so they might allow him with an hour of sleep tonight before he had to move on. He sat and knitted; making small toys to sell tomorrow for the pitiful money he could make to buy food for tomorrow. He sat and knitted, making bears, dogs, cat, unicorns and dragons, animals and mythical creatures. He made children and adults and families joined by the hands, looking sadly at the bright smiles on their faces.

By nightfall he had made nearly 20 toys, and was cold, despite his hoodie and track pants. He shivered and curled closer, shoving his toys in his bag for tomorrow. He lay, tightly curled on the cold concrete and eventually fell asleep. He woke with a cry as a candle flame was shoved into his face. He screamed and sat up, blinking into the light of a police officers flashlight. His breath was quick, almost hyperventilating as he held a hand in front of his eyes, and looked at the woman before him. She seemed friendly enough and offered him a hand. He stood, leaning heavily on her she gasped as she saw his leg. He thought about running but knew there was no chance with his leg in that condition. Her partner came around then, getting out of the car and walking over. He seemed angrier and not nearly as nice. He practically dragged Alex to his feet, ignoring his hiss of pain and shoved him in the car.

He sat impatiently in the police station. His last foster family had declared they didn't want him back so he was waiting for another house to be sorted. He was bored, imagining how bad the next could be. Well none could be worse than the… _no. I'm not thinking bout them. Nu-uh._ He shook his head, like clearing water out of his ears and growled at the voice in his mind. He sat, looking at the kids around him, some were so young, only 7 or 8 and already alone in the world. It mad him sick, remembering being that age, a new country, alone. It hadn't sold itself very well.


	2. Chapter 2: GEORGE WASHINGTON!

So this is chapter two, i should update every 2-3 days (I hope) but at least twice a week. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

By the time his social worker had arrived, Alex was exhausted. He had waited up all night and well into the next morning for him to turn up. And yet when Mr Paine walked in it was not with the air of someone 24 hours late, but with someone who was here precisely on time. Alex grumbled quietly but said nothing as they walked slowly to the car, trying to hide his limp.

"Alexander. You have to realise how serious this is. This is the last foster home that will take you in. If you get thrown out…." Alex didn't need Mr Paine to finish that sentence; he knew it wouldn't be pretty. He'd get sent to Nevis or to juvie while they waited for him to turn 18. A year.

"Uh-huh." He agreed, curled into himself. He didn't want to talk, just get there so he could run again. He could make it a year on the streets, far easier than a year with another family, the rules, the expectations and everything that came with breaking them. Alex shuddered against the cold leather seats.

He sat in silence, Mr Paine occasionally trying to talk or listen to some music but he just sat, curled into a ball, completely shut off from the outside world. Eventually the car slowed, and Alex had to re-join the world, slowly uncurling and looking up. From the sun, he judged they had been driving for an hour and a half, maybe two. He looked at the houses and his jaw dropped. They were HUGE. There was no other way to describe them. They pulled up in front of one, a perfect hedge, huge, HUGE house. Hedges were bad. You couldn't see pasta hedge. They were a clear set of 'this is us, this is you'. He shivered, wanting to just get out of the car and run but he knew there was a child lock on the doors. He knew from experience. He waited until they had stopped before opening the door, always a step behind Mr Paine. They walked awkwardly to the door, through the open gate. This was sometimes a good sign, sometimes bad. It meant they were expecting him, but didn't want to meet him. He sighed, but kept following his social worker who had already pressed the buzzer. There was excited scrambling behind the door and it opened. Alex stared hard at the ground. He knew his makeup hid the worst of his bruises but nothing could hide the scars and cuts so he pulled up his hoodie hood and kept his head down.

What Alex saw was not what he expected. A middle-aged woman stood alone on the threshold, a huge smile on her face and cooking apron twisted in her fingers. She stepped outside and Alex realised how small she was, shorter even than him by at least two inches.

"Mrs Washington?" Alex frowned, trying to place that name.

"Yes I'm Martha, please come in. You must be Alexander! We're so happy to have you with us! George sends his regards; he's at work today but should be back soon enough. Would you like some lunch?" She spoke fast, but her smile came through in her words, making Alex want to trust her. He shook his head, he knew better than this.

"Terribly sorry but I have work to do back in New York and, lovely as it is here in Virginia, I must get going. I'll call you in a few days time Alexander." That was it, all the words he got as Mr Paine walked away and left him alone with his foster mother. He turned back to her, fear plain in her eyes.

"Oh do come in dear!" she chirped, offering him a hand and leading him inside. He almost fell up the stairs, twisted leg catching as he dragged it up. Martha chatted to him the whole time but he wasn't really listening until she stopped and looked at him and he realised he had missed a question.

"Uhh…. Pardon?" he asked, trying not to sound like he had been ignoring her.

"Do you mind using the bedroom next to Gil?" She asked him, tilting his head slightly so he looked at her. He looked up in shock.

"Gil?" He started breathing faster. _They have another kid. Oh God he's gonna hate me. I'll get kicked out. He's gonna bully me and get everyone in the school to hate me. Crapcrapcrapcrap…._ He was pulled out of his thoughts by Martha, who dropped to her knees and took his hand, pressing a kiss to his bruised and bleeding knuckles. She looked at him, with pure sadness in her eyes, not asking for an explanation.

"Gil is our other foster son. He has been with us nearly….7 years now. He is French and very, excitable. Don't worry he's very caring and I'm sure you'll get along. He has a habit of breaking into French occasionally. Do you speak any languages I need to learn?" she asked with a laugh, but the question sounded sincere.

"N-Not really. I mean I can speak English, French, Spanish, Latin and some Italian but I don't slip into them ever." He stammers, trying not to show off, but also give an honest answer.

"Wow Alexander that's amazing! Sorry what do I call you? Alex? Alexander? What do you go by?" She asks, still sitting, looking up to him.

"Alex is fine." He says quickly, trying to hide his face.

"Sure. Do you want to go to your room?" She asks, standing and offering a hand. Alex nodded, taking her hand shakily, still looking at the floor. Martha started walking, Alex trying to keep up but unable to match her bustling pace with his leg. He cried out as he fell, falling on the hard wood floor.

He was lifted up almost instantly, Martha apologising and fretting and clearly agitated.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." Alex repeated, hands over his head to protect himself. He had hardly made it 10 minutes before being clumsy and getting into trouble.

"Darling what's the apologising for? You're hurt." She rushed upstairs and got a pillow, helping Alex to the couch and pulling a blanket up to his chin. "Just stay here and rest a while, you look so tired. We can do something about your leg tomorrow." She said. He nodded numbly, walked over and lay down, face into the pillow so no one would hear him screaming. Martha tut-tutted and rolled him over, stepping back in shock when she saw his face. Clean of makeup from falling on the floor, the bruising, cuts and scars that covered his face were clear.

"Oh darling! What happened?!" Alex winced at her raised voice, shrinking back into the couch in the hopes to escape punishment.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He said, bracing for a slap. Martha just stood there, despair plain on her face as she looked at the panicking child before her.

"You just have a rest, George should be back around 5. You can have some lunch when you wake up." She said, and then rushed to the kitchen to make lunch.

Alex woke up, a scream racing out of his mouth before he came back to the world and focused on where he was. Someone was holding him down, pushing him against a wall. He struggled and kicked the blanket off him, rolling onto the floor. He looked around and remembered the events of the last hour. He jumped as the front door opened and a loud call was hear through the house.

"MARTHA!" A loud male voice called happily. It was tired but cheery and Alex heard the door close behind the man as he stepped inside. There was no response from the house.

"ahh she's probably at the shops getting her dinner." It said calmly. In seconds, Alex had gone to the kitchen and stood behind the living room door, ignoring the screaming pain in his leg. This was survival. Someone was in the house and Martha wasn't here. He was alone with a thief in an unknown house with a broken leg. The door opened and Alex moved. Before the startled man could react, a breadknife was pressed to his throat. It was at this point that Alex took in the fact that this man was easily 6"4 and that he had to stand on his tiptoes and stretch his arm all the way to reach this hugs man's throat.

"I think you should leave now. I-I don't want to hurt you but I will if you stay here. M-M-Martha will be back soon and I don't think she'd be happy with you being here so you should go now. P-please. I don't want anyone to get hurt, but you have to know, stealing is wrong. It's bad. Just go away and get a job." He said shakily, trying to keep his balance while standing on the toes of one foot.

"uhh. That might be a bit hard." The man replied, trying not to move much. "I kind of own this house." He said slowly.

"SHIT! Mr Washington?" Alex asked, dropping the knife. He winced but it just clattered to the ground.

"Yeah. That's me." The man replied, slowly turning around. "And you would be Alexander?" He asked. Alex just limped/ran to his bag, pulled out his mini skateboard and, sitting on it and pushing it with his hands, raced to the door and opened it, fleeing as fast as he could. It had taken weeks of work to get this skateboard but it had helped him many times when he had to run and with his broken leg he could sit in it and push extremely fast. He'd need to. He could hear the door open behind him and kept pushing, faster and faster and faster.

Shoutouts!

Penny watson lafayette, sorta my beta reader and my best friend. please read her fic 'he even brings the thunder' its really good!

Also to ColdInMyProfessions who has inspired me to write and is the reason I still am. She is the BEST! OMG! You should rly read her fic 'For the first time, I'm thinking past tomorrow'

THANKS FOR READING! LOVE U!

05alex29hammy51 xxx


	3. Chapter 3: IM A GENERAL! WHEEEEEEE!

Chapter 3:

Alex pushed, his hands red and cut from scraping the sidewalk. He could hear George behind him and looked back. He had only gone 20 or so meters and he wasn't going to make it, _I'm not going to make it._ He looked forward in time to hit a bump and went flying, landing a few meters away.

"No no no no nonono." He mumbled, as George caught up, picking up his skateboard so he couldn't run. Alex whimpered as a car stopped next to them and he heard Martha's hushed voice.

"What…George…hurt...Must…can't...Carry…home…" They spoke for a minute more then Alex screamed as he was picked up, his broken leg shifting and grinding, biting his lip so hard it bled. He made it three steps in George's arms before he blacked out.

 _Pain. That was the first thing that entered his mind. And a name, Lee. Great, he was starting all the way back at the start. The world changed, there was a spinning sensation and then might came in too. There was a bulb, bright above his head, walls less than a foot on every direction, a ceiling brushing against his head, dust falling from it as someone stomped down the stairs. The door creaked open and Alex blinked in the bright light, the old yellow bulb in the cupboard dim compared to the super white lights of the house outside. 'Please let it be Charles, please let it be Charles.' Charlie wasn't holding the door. His father was. Alex groaned internally but crawled out anyway. He knew better than to fight. He just sat silently as Mr lee wound rope around his wrists and made him sit on the floor. He watched in growing fear and anticipation as the man took off his belt, the sliding sound of hard leather like a snake getting ready to strike. There was a crack, and Alex cried out, again, and again, and again. Then it changed, so the sound was louder, reverberating around his skull as the buckle connected with his head, rather than his back. He fell onto the cold tiles as the world turned to black._

 _The world moved again and some dim part of his mind said Seabury. Oh God not this again. Sam was the worst. He wasn't as evil as Lee but he was vicious with his words. Alex was never hit, but he still could not sleep at night from the cutting words. Alex had learnt most of his 'sass' and his quick thinking. It was also where he had learnt never to trust anyone and never to listen to what they said. He was at dinner, which mostly consisted of him sitting on the floor while Samuel ate dinner. If he took the insults he might get a scrap or two, never more. He had learnt in those many long months not to depend on food. He could go a week, sometimes more without eating. This time it only took one remark before Alex ran._

 _"I bet your mother was so glad she died so she didn't have to deal with you. Its all your fault she's dead. I hope you know that." Alex stood shakily and ran to his room, slamming the door behind him as the world spun black._

 _"Please can we skip Eacker. Please can we skip eacker!" He screamed and sat up._

"NO!" He looked around and realised that he was in a hospital, his broken leg in a cast. Luckily, no one had touched his hoodie and pants so they didn't know about anything else. He heard rushed footsteps coming from outside. A nurse and two other people burst into the room. He dimly recognised them as Martha and George.

"oh sweetie are you alright? You sounded scared!" She said, stroking his cheek with a thumb. George sat I one of the chairs, not wanting to get close and scare the boy, who was clearly terrified. He sat, a look of quiet concern in his eye. He and Martha had stayed all night, listening to the boys panicked breathing and talking in his sleep. Aside from a few details, George was pretty sure he had a good idea of Alex's past. Not that you would call it a 'good' idea. He had seen the boy cry, and shrink away from an imaginary pain that George feared wasn't imaginary enough. Alex looked over at George and Martha, confusion plain in his eyes.

"w-why are you still here?" He asked, his voice rough and scratchy. Martha looked sad.

"oh I'm sorry sweetie, did you want us to go?" Alex looked panicked for a second, then the confused look cane back.

"n-no. Its just, I assumed you wouldn't want me after...you know..." He mumbled sadly. Martha frowned.

"of course we still want you! Now just rest up and we'll be back as soon as we've had some lunch. Do you want anything sweetie?" Alex shook his head, he didn't know what got him punished, and after what he had already dine, and the beating he was already due, he couldn't afford to add to it. Martha nodded and she and George left. The nurse came over, looking slightly anxious.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to take off your hoodie." Alex visibly paled.

"I-I-I cant." He was clearly terrified, squirming in the bed on the verge of a panic attack. The nurse pressed a button, a small amount of liquid went onto his veins and he fell asleep.

Martha and George were worried. The boy was clearly not normal, nothing like their last experience with Gil. They walked back in and gasped. Alex was unconscious and the nurse had just removed his hoodie. Martha and George's eyes quickly searched up and down his body for a spot that wasn't black and purple. Scars dotted his arms from cigarettes and there were the unmistakeable imprints of fingers on his neck.

"Oh sweetie!" Martha cried, rushing forwards to take his hand.

Thanks for reading! Pls follow/fav/review! thanks so much, its rly great when I get some feedback


	4. Chapter 4: oui oui mon ami! LAFAYETTE!

Note: all French is in bold English. Martha and George do not speak French.

It took a few hours before Alex was allowed home, the doctors having to make sure his leg was healing and the bruising hadn't left permanent damage. Luckily aside from some minor breathing problems he seemed fine. Alex decided very quickly that he hated crutches. They were slow and annoying. As they got out of the car, Alex had to stick out the crutches, put his weight on his good foot, then start walking. It was evil.

He had barely made it inside when there was an excided yell. It sounded like a boy, around Alex's age from the tone.

" **HE IS HOME!** " It yelled, as a tall extremely good looking French kid ran around the top of the stairs, holding on with one hand to the banister so he didn't fly into the wall. He had to be a foot taller than Alex, but still several inches shorter than George, sitting him at around 6"1 Alex reckoned. He just had time to crouch and wrap his arms around his head before the other boy crashed into him, wrapping him in a hug. Alex screamed as his bruises were all pushed at the same time. George moved quickly, pulling the excited teen of the terrified boy, pushing him back a few steps. Alex slowly uncurled, standing with a wince and looking down at the ground.

" **Oops my friend! I am sorry!** " The tall teen said quickly, still standing where George had pushed him back to. Alex just nodded quickly but said nothing.

" **I don't get it. You said he threatened you with a knife yet he shakes where he stands, at least a foot too short. What's up with him?** " The kid said, a playful smirk on his face as he looked down the cowering Alex. In an instant, Alex stood straight and smiled at the boy, glaring him in the eye.

" **I do beg pardon for my brief response yet I feel a need to express that I am not short, but rather that you are unreasonably tall. I am unable to fathom why this had you brand me a coward and as to my fear, I assure you it is perfectly rational and you would know that if you didn't live in a three storey Mansion with more space on you couch, than I had in every room I've lived in for 16 years put together!** " Alex spat his eyes bright with anger. While he may not win in a fight, this was something no one could beat him with. Words were his friends.

After a second of pure joy, he realised what he had done. His heart dropped and he crouched once again, wrapping his hands around his head and quietly whispering,

" **I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry** ". He had only made it a few hours before being rude to their son. There was no way they would let him stay. At best, they'd just beat him a bit, he could handle that easily, at worst beat him and THEN call his social worker.

" **Please don't call Mr Paine! Please I'm so sorry. I wont speak again just please, I don't mind if you beat me but don't make me leave."** He was almost in tears, so scared of having to leave already. He was clearly in a state of absolute panic as Martha quickly rushed forward. Lafayette just looked horrified, so saddened by Alex's quick response and assumption of a beating.

"I have no idea of what went on between the two of you but if Gil was involved then it was probably bad. But it's okay for you. I'm sorry if he was rude." At this Martha glared at Gil, who held up his hands in mock surrender but was clearly worried for the boy.

"Do you want some sleep? Its nearly nine o'clock." Martha said quietly, with a look at Gil. "It's Gil's bedtime anyway so you might as well go too." Lafayette nodded.

"Come on. **I'm sorry if I upset you but there is nothing to fear here. You speak excellently for one who is not French."** He asked, resuming his native tongue after the first sentence much to George's dismay.

"We need more people mocking us behind our backs in French." He rolled his eyes but Martha playfully slapped him and he smiled. Alex was stunned, unable to move. Were they going to just, let him sleep? Maybe they were giving him time to get ready for the beating he would to receive. He almost cried at how kind they were. Martha frowned.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Alex looked at her, shock in his eyes, mingling with the tears that threatened to fall.

"Y-you're gonna wait till morning?" He asked quietly. "Why not now? Get it over with so they fade sooner." He mumbled. Martha looked confused.

"What did he say?" She asked George, who had walked over to hear him. George pressed his lips into a lip and shook his head.

"Just go up to bed, Gil will show you which is your room." He said sadly. Alex nodded quickly and looked at Lafayette, who seemed worried but happy.

" **alons-y**!" (let's go) He declared, trying not to notice how Alex flinched from the loud noise. Alex dutifully followed him up the stairs and into the room. He dropped his bag, said a quiet 'night' to Lafayette and sat on the floor. He was tired, but didn't want the Washington's to have to wash the sheets from one nights stay so he just curled up on the floor and slept. His mind was blank for once, allowing him a few hours before he woke up and started writing furiously in his diary, one of the many books he kept with him.


	5. Chapter 5: in the place to be

George was worried. He had gone into Alex's room at 10 to find the boy on the floor. Even asleep he looked scared, his face twisted with fear, anger, and pain. When he woke the next morning, at around 7, Alex's room was empty. He went downstairs and found a fully cooked breakfast on the table but no sign of Alex. He picked up a note, left on the table next to piles of bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and hash browns, enough food for 5 people.

 _Dear Mr. Washington sir,_

 _I apologize sincerely if this note reaches you while I am absent. I have made breakfast and gone for a run. I will be back by 7:05 exactly. I am so so sorry for any inconvenience. The belt is heating on the fire._  
 _Many apologies_

George looked over as he heard one lock click. He quickly strode to the door, flicked the other lock and pulled open the door, a startled Alex falling on his face from where he had been picking the second lock. He quickly stood up, rushing to apologize.  
"I'm so sorry sir, I didn't want to leave the house unlocked but I had to go for my exercise." He threw out the words, each tumbling over the other to apologize and limit his beating. George held up a hand.  
"How long have you been awake?" He asked.  
"A little over 4 hours," Alex replied quickly. "Sir."  
"So at two am you raided the pantry and fridge then ran away?" George was confused. This boy, who had clearly seemed so scared, had openly stolen from them? Why? Alex shook his head quickly.  
"N-no, sir. I went and bought it." He said, a clear shake in his voice. George frown deepened  
"And you got the money from..." He asked. Alex looked scared but his mouth opened and words tumbled out.  
"I taught myself to knit and sew toys to sell. I sold them every Wednesday and Sunday and this is how I survived a few weeks on the streets. I missed last Wednesday because I got hit by a drunk guy and was unconscious. So I took them down at 4, catching the morning traffic and made the money to buy breakfast, sir. I promise that I didn't steal!" Alex was panting by the end, but George just stood in stunned silence. He eventually managed a few words.  
"You started work at three for a meal you didn't participate in?"  
"Yes, sir...?" Alex seemed disappointed but he walked sadly past George, grabbed the white-hot belt from the fireplace and handed it to his foster father. He didn't even look up as Laf walked in from the other room he just knelt on the floor; hands clenched tightly though his face remained impassive. George just stood, having no idea what the boy wanted him to do. He looked at Laf, the confusion clear on his face.  
"What does he…?" George began.  
"Petit lion. **What are you doing**? " Laf asked the still kneeling boy. Alex frowned and looked up at him.  
" **I have been naughty. I will be punished.** " He said quietly, despite knowing George didn't speak French. Laf shook his head quickly.  
" **Non you have not Mon Ami. You are right to be scared. When I first came, George scared me too and I had not had the past you have. He will never hit you, he will never take food from you, and he will never work you more than helping stack the dishwasher**. " Laf said, his dramatic hand gestures emphasizing his speech. Alex nodded silently, not daring himself to speak. George repeatedly shrugged his shoulders, trying to get him to translate. Laf mouthed 'later' as he leads a shaking Alex upstairs. He came back down a few minutes later looking calmer. George hurried over to him already asking questions.  
"What was that? Is he okay? Does he need anything? Should I wake Martha?" Laf held up a hand and George stopped.  
"One at a time **s'il vous plait**!" Laf chided but quickly answered George's questions.  
"He thought he had been bad and that you were furious. At his last house, his foster father made him heat his belt till it was white-hot before beating him so it hurt more. I guess he got used to that and assumed you would do the same. He is sleeping now and seemed okay. I think he's fine and yes I would wake Martha, but don't let her fuss too much." Laf said, rocking off George's questions on his fingers as he answered them. George just stood there, shocked.  
"He thought I was going to what?" George said quietly, his eyes full of remorse. Laf threw up his hands.  
"Mais, of course, he thinks that! Did you not hear how he cries and begs in his sleep, tortured by images of the past?" Laf said, the anger and emotion clear in his voice though George knew it was not directed at him. George nodded sadly.  
"I know son, but we have to just help him now. I think he's a bit scared of me though, the rough start didn't help." George muttered. Laf frowned, and indicated for George to continue. George recounted briefly what had occurred when he had arrived home the day before.  
"Oh, I see." Was all Laf could manage. George nodded and looked up the stairs where Martha had just appeared, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.  
"W-what's all the noise? I went into Alex's room after I heard you leave Laf and he was crying in the cupboard, saying he was sorry over and over. He literally begged me 'please don't call Mr. Paine. I don't care if you beat me but please don't make me leave'." Martha said, a concerned look on her face.  
"How about we talk over breakfast?" Laf suggested, "It might get cold." George nodded and they walked in silence to the dining room. Martha gasped when she saw the food.  
"Oh George, when did you have the time for this? It's incredible!" George shifted nervously.  
"Alex made it." He said quietly, pulling back Martha's chair and tucking it in as she sat. He sat down and thought for a second.  
"I should start at the beginning. While you were with John and you were at the shops I got home." He pointed to Laf and Martha respectively. "Alex got spooked and though I had broken in. I think the painkillers you gave him addled with his already tired and hungry brain because he assumed I broke in. I don't know how he did it with a broken leg but I wandered into the living room to find a knife pressed to my throat. He gave me a full on lecture about stealing and told me to 'get a job'." George laughed as Martha and Laf stared in shock. "Anyway he panicked and ran when he found out who I was, on a skateboard no less. But he hit a bump, went flying and we had to take him to hospital. He needed to go anyway but this made it more necessary. He blacked out for a while and woke up in hospital. But I heard him talking in his sleep; he's been abused pretty badly. He's got cuts and bruises everywhere so just watch out for those." He said, looking pointedly at Laf who nodded seriously, all traces of humour gone. George sighed and continued.  
"So we came home, you know all that stuff then he went to bed etcetera. I woke up ad he was gone but breakfast was on the table and there was a note. He said he would be home at 7, and he was. He told me that he got up at 3 to walk to the local market, sell toys then walk to the shops and buy breakfast then go for exercise. That must have hurt so much with a broken leg but he clearly wanted to prove himself to use and apologize for something. Anyway, so he got back at 7 and just picked up his belt from the fire, yes the fire no jokes and just gave it to me and sat down so calmly on the floor like it was normal. Laf took him upstairs and you came down 3 minutes later." George finished. They all jumped suddenly as the door banged open and a loud voice yelled,  
"LAFFY MY DARLING! COME GIVE YOUR BOYFRIEND A KISS!" Laf was up in a flash and at the door within seconds.  
"Petit Jean! Did I not say yesterday that you could not come today! **Alex is here and he doesn't like people very much.** "  
" **F***! I'm so sorry Laf! I totally forgot**." John said, and then looked up quickly as there was a nervous cough from upstairs. Alex was there; eyes rimmed red from crying, hands still shaking slightly from fear and anxiety.

" **M-Monsieur La-Lafayette? Who is that**?" Alex slowly walked down as Laf nodded and beckoned him to come.

"Petit Alexandre I am not your teacher! You don't have to call me monsieur, or sir, or your majesty, just Laf or Lafayette." Laf said with a laugh, though it was clear he was concerned for Alex.  
"I'm John Laurens in the place to be!" John laughed then extended his hand. Alex shook it, unsure what John expected but bit back a cry of pain as John pulled him into a hug. Laf looked concerned till Alex shook his head. If John noticed the exchange, he said nothing.  
"Anyway Laffy darlin' we gotta write an essay about the themes of the book for tomorrow." Laf nodded and Alex quietly put up his hand.  
"Umm sorry, what's the book?" Laf frowned but John smiled.  
"Its this book called "into a forest" by someone-or-other Nowra." Alex gasped and squeaked.  
"What was that? I swear it was an honest-to-god fangirl squeak!?" John laughed and Alex ducked his head.  
"S-s-sorry. I-its my favourite book. I think. Is that the one goes 'me name be Hannah Obrien and I be 76 years old. Me first thing is an apology, me language is bad cause I lost it and had to learn it again…" Alex recited. Laf smiled as he did and beckoned them upstairs.  
"Oh my god, how much do you know?" John asked as they walked up to Lafayette's room.  
"The whole book," Alex said quietly.  
"Why'd you learn it?" John asked. Alex visibly paled and John thought he had gone too far.  
"It was the only book we had. I kept it with me always till the last house where I lost it." John nodded but Laf frowned.  
"Alex, could you give me a minute with Jean?" Alex nodded and left quickly. John looked at Laf, confused.  
"Something is up with that book, he paled when you asked him about it and says he 'lost it'. Alex does not one seem like one to simply lose something so close. I think something happened." Laf said quietly and John nodded.  
"All good Mon petit lion!" Laf yelled and Alex scurried back in, hands clenched tightly. They walked in silence and sat on Laf's bed, Alex on the floor. After a good hour of writing, Laf spoke to Alex directly.  
"Mon Ami, you don't have to tell us but Jean and I worry. What happened to you with this book?" He asked. Alex sighed and fidgeted anxiously.  
"I don't have very good experience with the foster system. Most are angry or violent, using the children as a mean to take out their anger. M-m-my last foster house was a man called George. He was the worst. I slept in the basement on an old towel-heating rail. The bars kept me warm in winter and cool in summer. I had no possessions other than what I'm wearing and that book. One night he was angry and locked me in the basement with no food for 5 days. He came to get me and found me happily reading, showing no signs of upset at all. I wasn't gonna lose to this man. So he took the book and burnt it but I smiled and recited the entire book to him. He seemed to soften and asked me who my favourite character was. I said Dave, the male Tassie tiger. He smiled and nodded at that and gave me some food and water." Alex teared up slightly and John moved closer, dropping to the floor and wrapping a protective arm around him.  
"I-I should have known. That night I went to sleep but didn't wake up until the next morning. When I woke, my back was screaming in pain and so was I. Turned out the old towel rail still worked." Alex spat bitterly. Laf and John looked confused, no idea what Alex was talking about until he sighed and pulled up his hoodie. Laf didn't move, he had already seen Alex's arms but John swore, mind jumping back to when he had hugged Alex and the hiss of pain he had covered up. Alex smirked at john's shock and pulled up his t-shirt. The boys just stared. Long black burn marks ran horizontally all the way down his back, creating stripes, not unlike the stripes of a tiger. They looked extremely painful but only then did John also see how thin Alex was. He hadn't eaten since he was on the streets and every rib stuck out clearly. His stomach was curved inwards so that there were only a few inches between his back and his belly.  
"MERDE!" Was all Laf could say. Alex heard heavy footsteps and jumped to his feet, pulling on his shirt and hoodie with lightning speed.  
"Not one word." He hissed just before George and Martha burst into the room.


	6. Chapter 6: the american promise

George skeptically looked around the room where Laf and John sat, Alex on his feet, wincing slightly at his broken leg.

"What's wrong Gil?" George asked, his eyes searching for any signs of lying. He saw all of them as Laf spoke.

"I hit my toe on the bed. It hurt." He said quickly, a look at John and Alex to confirm his story. They both nodded quickly and agreed with Laf. George frowned but nodded.

"Sure." He said, the eye roll at Laf's terrible lying in his voice. He and Martha walked downstairs and the boys kept talking.

"T-thanks Laf. I thought you were going to tell him." Laf scoffed in mock offense.

"You offend me mon ami!" Alex's eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" John laughed but looked at Alex in the eye.

"Laf says a lot of things he doesn't mean. But when he jokes, it can be hard to tell for someone new. Or to someone who gives a fuck when they offend him" John said, a grin on his face. Laf's wounded look swung to John so he poked his tongue out at Laf. Alex laughed then cut off with a quick apology. They kept writing, but everyone could feel the tension in the air, no one mentioning what they had seen before George and Martha came in.

They finished the essay within the hour, Alex's knowledge of the book helping massively. At some point George had brought in some food, toast, jam, eggs and bacon. Alex had managed to take and then put back food when no one was noticing so it looked like he had eaten, though his stomach remained empty. After they finished, they wandered slowly downstairs, Alex listening to the stories John told about Laf and another friend they called papa. As soon as they walked into the living room however, Alex stopped. Here was a visible tension in the air and George looked nervous, looking to Martha for reassurance.

"Sir? Is there a problem?" Alex sounded on the verge of tears. George frowned, sighed and walked to Alex.

"Son, I've enrolled you in the local school. It's where Laf and John go, and I think you'll like it. Only if you want though." Alex sat on the floor, dropped really and put his head in his hands. One the one side, he wanted to learn, and loved school and the knowledge it provided. One the other, school meant bullying, embarrassment and trouble. He flinched when Martha sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Its okay sweetie, you don't have to." Alex shook his head.

"N-no I want to." He stood slowly and looked to Laf. He hung his head and whispered.

" **P-please Lafayette, don't tell everyone at school what I told you and John. P-please**." Laf was shocked, speechless.

" **Alex we would never. You are safe with us. Just stay with Laf, me and papa and you will be fine**." John replied. Laf nodded.

" **Okay.** " Alex spoke quietly, reflective of his mood.

They spent the rest of the day chatting amiably and playing games. Every game they played Alex smashed them, beating them at monopoly in half an hour and winning every game of cards they played. By 5 o'clock John had gone home and Alex was staring at a tiny plate of food, trying to convince himself to eat it. He managed to force down half a sandwich then had to stop, running upstairs, locking the door and hiding in the cupboard. He sat there and cried for a while then, feeling better, fell asleep.

He woke the next morning to banging from next door, guessing it was Laf getting ready. Alex had packed his bag before he went to sleep and crawled out of the cupboard to find clothes laid out for him. He quickly dressed and ran downstairs, trying to make sure he wasn't late for school. It was only 7, and he knew school stared at 8:30 but he wanted to be sure. Laf bounced down the stirs, almost literally, a few minutes later. Alex had made breakfast and put a clean bowl in the dishwasher, making it look like he had eaten. Laf ate quickly, dragging Alex down the road, talking at rapid speed the whole way.

They made it to school in 5 minutes and Alex had to stop. It was huge, crowds of people pouring into the gates. Alex stopped as a head of frizzy hair caught his eye.

"No fucking way." He said quietly. "No mother fucking way." He let go of Laf's hand and ran, jumping on the back of a tall boy with frizzy hair. He wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck and hugged him like a piggyback. The boy looked back over his shoulder but Alex changed the side his head was on so the boy couldn't see him.

"Whoever the fuck you think you are dipshit, get off my back. You're crinkling my jacket." He looked at the boy opposite him and frowned.

"Jimmy James what prick is touching me?" James shrugged.

"I don't know him." The tall boy grabbed Alex's hands and snapped them back, flipping him over his head to slam into the concrete. Alex groaned in pain as he lay face down on the concrete.

"Nice to see you too fromie." He muttered quietly.

"Tommy that wasn't nice. I told you to deal with other people calmly." James said.

"Not when they fucking jump on me like they're my best friend!" Thomas hissed. He kicked Alex. "And what did you say dipshit?"

"I said that it's nice to see you too fromie." Alex said louder, looking at Thomas with a scornful dislike. Thomas swore, picking Alex up under the arms and inspecting him. He took in the broken leg and the shine of cheap makeup instantly.

"Fuck jammie! What happened? Are you okay? Is it your current father? Who are you here with-"

"Fromie! I'm fine. I'm here with Lafayette. I'm staying with the Washingtons and no not them." He said. Thomas looked sceptical but put the smaller boy down. Thomas nodded but James looked confused.

"We were friends when we were younger. Before I went to France." Thomas explained.

"You mean before you fucked off and left me with George you mean!" Alex spat then his eyes widened and he shook. "Shit I'm so sorry, so sorry." Thomas raised a hand to calm him and Alex flinched. Thomas looked like he wanted to cry, hug Alex and scream at the same time. Eventually he just nodded.

"Yeah. Before I left you high and dry with no home and no friends." Thomas said sadly. Alex jumped as Laf burst through with John, speaking quickly.

"Mon ami! Why did you run off? Are you okay?"

"Why does everyone ask so many questions?" Alex asked.

Laf frowned.

"You shouldn't just run away like that! You scared me and John!" Laf scolded.

"Oh let him be Marie!" Thomas said, placing a hand on Alex's shoulder. Alex didn't flinch, but instead he felt warm. A sense of comfort he had not felt in a long time. Laf looked up and frowned.

"Oh. I see you've met Thomas fucking Jeffershit. Let's go." Alex shook his head.

"Non Lafayette. He's an old friend. Fromie play nice." He said as he saw Thomas scowl at Laf.

"Fromie?" Laf asked.

"Comes from fromage. I'm jammie from jambon. Cuz I'm HAMilton he called my hammy then jambon then just jammie. But he loves mac and cheese, and ham and cheese croissants. And his dad is Mackenzie so he's mac. So it's mac and cheese and ham and cheese." Alex explained.

"So you know Jeffershit?" John asked quietly.

"Yeah. He used to be Laf for 4 months." Alex said quietly. Laf's eyes widened.

"Why did you leave? I swear to god Jeffershit if u hurt petit alexan-"

"Non. He had to go to France. Mac's job. He was the best family ever. I missed him. And then he rocks up here and friggin judo flips me." Alex laughed, tears on his face as he struggled to breathe from laughing too hard. Jefferson laughed sarcastically but Alex could see the smile in his eyes though he hid it from his face with a well-practiced scowl. The bell rang just as Alex stopped crying and drew breath.

"I need to get my timetable. I've got 5 minutes till class." Thomas nodded and Laf lead Alex to the front office. He collected his timetable to discover (after a few texts) he had every class with Laf, John and/or Jefferson. They walked to English, which they all shared. They got in a few minutes late but there was a sub so they slipped in and no one noticed. Jefferson winked at Alex and he smiled. Their teacher came in a few minutes later, nearly 20 mins late and Alex shook his head. He didn't like people being late.

"So class, who learnt some quotes over the last week?" The teacher asked, his face hidden behind his computer. He already looked and sounded bored as he just sat and scrolled through something on his screen. A few hands went up.

"Stand up if you think you know the most." He said in a low monotonous voice. Alex looked at Laf who indicated he should stand. He slowly stood, the only one. There was a laugh from the back of the class at the new kid.

"How many do you know?' The teacher asked, still not looking up for more than a second to see someone had stood.

"One sir." Alex said calmly.

"One? How long?" The teacher scoffed.

"T-the whole book sir." Alex said carefully.

"Really? Top of page 56."

"Hannah and Becky hadn't even noticed it but they had begun to move on all fours." Alex said. The teacher looked shocked.

"Alright sit down. I once knew a kid who learnt the whole book. Annoying little shit he was. He was arrogant and fucking useless. He would have done the world a favour if he'd just died." The teacher said. Laf gulped, looked at Alex, looked at the teacher and said,

"Was his name Alexander Hamilton?" The teacher looked straight at Laf.

"How do you know that little shit?" the teacher hissed standing right over Laf. Alex sat one row behind him. He pushed back his chair and ran from the room sobbing. The teacher didn't bat an eyelid, just went back to the desk and started talking. Laf looked at the door but Alex didn't come back for a while. After maybe ten minutes he walked in slowly and sat back in his chair.

"Decided to join us again did you Alexander?" The teacher asked, showing no signs of prior relationships other than teacher-student. Alex nodded.

"Yes."

"YES SIR!" The teacher yelled.

"Yes sir!" Alex said quickly, clearly terrified.

"Mr Eacker please, that's a little harsh. He only got into the state two days ago." John said angrily. Mr Eacker walked to John's desk and stood in front of it, glaring at him.

"I am the teacher. He should address me by my title."

"Fine. I'll make sure he does then." John said, trying not to let his emotion into his voice. Mr Eacker nodded once and strode back to the front of the classroom.

"Now, did anyone do their essay?" he asked. Everyone put their essay in the air and he walked down the aisles collecting them. He stopped at Alex's desk.

"Where is your essay?" he asked coldly.

"I didn't know we had one sir. This is my first day."

"Well you should have found out! Homework detention!" Mr Eacker declared, walking to his desk and filling out a slip. Laf glared at him.

"You can't do that! He was never informed of the homework! It's his first day how the hell did you expect him to know? Where would he find out? This is the first mention he's heard of it he-"

"SILENCE! You can have one too if you want!?" Mr Eacker yelled

"FINE!" Laf yelled. Mr Eacker handed him a slip too and John opened his mouth to start.

"Don't John. I've already messed up on day one I don't want you in trouble too." He said quietly.

"You know that's not true. George shouldn't have given it to us except he's a miserable prick!" John declared, fire in his eyes. He didn't even look down as the slip was slammed onto his desk. Alex stood up, shaking but defiant and picked up John and Laf's slips. He put them on the teacher's desk and spoke quietly.

"George you know that's not fair. You know first hand how hard it is to assimilate into a new family and you can't blame Laf and John for being protective. I'd say you know what its like to protect an innocent child but you don't so I'll use your wife instead. Try to tell me you wouldn't risk anything for Jessica? It's just instinct for them to protect someone smaller than them. It'll fade and I swear this will be the last time but come on. Please." Mr Eacker rolled his eyes.

"You always had a way with words didn't you? Just this once. Now sit the fuck down Hamilton."

"YES SIR!" Alex said loudly, sitting down quickly and watching as George crumpled the detention slips and tossed them in the bin. The rest of the lesson progressed smoothly but the bell for second period couldn't come soon enough.


	7. Chapter 7: from crisis to crisis

Alex walked on towards math, trying not to notice that only John was with him. It was nice, but seemed much quieter than the vibrant French of Lafayette and the humorous sarcasm of Jefferson. He got the sarcasm as he entered the class, but there was no humour to it.

"Oh look. If it isn't everyone's favourite child, Alexander fucking Hamilton. Long time no see dickhead." Said a voice from the back of the classroom just as Alex sat down. He groaned, placing the voice immediately.

"Nice to see you to Charlie. How's Mr Lee these days? Got a new belt has he?" Alex asked innocently.

"Yep. Old one got too used." Charlie shot back, grinning mischievously. Alex laughed, knowing if he didn't he'd cry.

"Can I talk to you after class? Given that our teacher is here?" Charlie suggested. Alex gulped.

"Sure. Why not?" Alex said, trying to concentrate during class and not focus on the fact that Charlie was behind him. It seemed that the world was in his favour. The topic they were doing was one he knew well and he was soon the only one aside from John and Charlie who was answering all the questions, much to his teacher's pleasure.

After class Alex packed his bags but stayed behind to talk to his teacher to make sure he could catch up. He knew he'd miss recess but that was fine. Not like he had food to eat anyway. Luckily he wasn't too far behind and knew most of the stuff he needed to know for the last few topics. Unluckily when he got outside Charlie and his friend were waiting for him. Charlie grabbed Alex's arm and dragged him downstairs, Alex resuming his usual pattern of obeying when someone was violent and dominant. He just stumbled along, trying to keep up with Charlie who was dragging him along, fingernails digging into Alex's arm. Charlie banged open the door to a spare room on the lowest level and shoved Alex inside. He closed and locked the door then turned on Alex. Alex stepped behind a desk, putting a wall between himself and Charlie. That stopped working when Charlie's friend approached from the other side.

"Charlie, you're not gonna get away with this. Someone's gonna notice." Alex said quickly.

"Funny. They never noticed before…How many of your ribs did I break before anyone noticed?" Charlie asked.

"Nine." Alex muttered.

"Nine. Then one or two should be fine right?" Charlie laughed, as did his friend.

"George, make sure he doesn't go anywhere." Charlie said calmly, like this was something he had done many times before. Which he had. George grabbed Alex's arms, holding them behind him so he could do nothing as Charlie stood in front of him, a Cheshire cat smile on his face. Alex's eyes dropped to Charlie's waist and he sighed in relief when he found that his pants did up with a button not a belt. Charlie smiled at that.

"No, no trip down that memory lane for today, but there are many other days, and many other lanes to wander along." Charlie laughed and his fist shot forward and there was a satisfying crack into Alex's nose. He swore and spat out some blood that had run from his nose to his mouth. Charlie laughed and punched his gut, the breath leaving Alex. He slumped in George's arms, barely noticing the next few punches. He looked up as the punches stopped, bloody, terrified but defiant. He stopped being defiant as a hand was wrapped around his throat, cutting of his air supply. Alex's hands scrabbled at Charlie's larger one but without air there was nothing he could do. His vision was dimming, the edges turning black and he knew there was maybe a minute until he blacked out.

"Getting used to the feeling again are you Alex?" Charlie asked. Alex was to panicked to reply, every part of his brain demanding air. Charlie slapped him and let go, giving him one last kick in the stomach. Alex slowly sat up, feeling his ribs. They hurt like hell but none seemed broken, maybe a fracture at worst but that should be alright if he didn't exert himself for a few days. He slowly sat up and checked the nearest clock. He had ten minutes. He grabbed the makeup from his bag; every movement hurt but he managed to clean up enough that no one would notice. He stumbled into class with just enough time, luckily not having to go very far as it was on the first floor, only two flights of stairs. He saw Laf give him a questioning look as he winced but he looked away. Not like anyone would notice any new bruises. And it wasn't that bad, he hadn't even broken anything. He tried to concentrate in science but he kept hearing the snickering laughter of Charlie and George behind him.

He managed to stumble through his classes eventually before he wandered along for a while and managed to find the cafeteria. Laf, John and someone else sat at a table together, chatting loudly. The one Alex didn't know was huge, easily 6"6 and looked like he could bench-press twice Alex's weight. Not that that was very much, but it was still scary. Alex slowly walked over, still wincing at his ribs and broken leg, though his leg had improved rapidly since getting proper medical attention. He sat slowly next to John, trying not to notice the lack of food in front of him, compared to the large meals of the others. John looked up from eating as he noticed someone else next to him.

"ALEX! Hey man how was class? I missed you in the last two but you seemed nervous in math? You alright?" Alex nodded quickly. He knew what Lee could do to the others if he told anyone. A few punches weren't worth seeing his friends hurt. It took nearly a minute for the silence of Alex staring at the other kid for Laf and John to realise they didn't know each other.

"Oh man I'm so stupid! Alex this is Herc, Herc, Alex. " John said quickly. Alex nodded and stood to shake Herc's hand so he didn't have to reach over the boy's food. Herc just stood and picked him up in a bear hug. Alex screamed.


	8. Chapter 8: in loco parentis

Herc dropped Alex immediately, bending down to apologise hastily to the small boy.

"Oh shit Alex I'm so sorry! I just met you and I've already messed up oh man I feel so bad! Shit I'm so sorry!" Alex held up a hand shakily. Lights were dancing in his eyes and he couldn't concentrate from pain but he didn't want Herc to feel bad.

"No. I'm fine." Alex wheezed, trying to breathe. He stood shakily and sat back at the table, trying not to collapse again. They sat in silence for a minute; Alex's eyes squeezed tight shut.

Alex opened his eyes a minute later and looked at Herc, smiling a bit.

"Sorry. I'm all good." He laughed lightly then winced when it hurt his ribs.

"Mon petit lion you were not like this this morning? What happened?" Laf asked worriedly.

"Nothing. I tripped leaving class." Alex said quickly, averting his eyes. Laf nodded, not believing him but not wanting to make a scene. He could ask Alex when they got home. They chatted amiably for a while but they had another class and had to go. It was debating which they all shared so they walked along.

The class went fine until they started getting paired up for debates. Alex was against Thomas and James Madison who was new to debating so got paired with Jefferson so he could learn, so he was happy. Laf was against a girl called Angelica and Herc was against John so everyone was pretty happy with who they had to verse. Alex and Thomas were told they had to go first and talk about opening a national bank. Alexander would be playing the first treasury secretary Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas would be secretary of state Daveed Diggs. They were given a few minutes to prepare a speech before they had to stand up. Thomas stood with perfectly planned magenta palm-cards while Alex just ran up with half a book of random notes that he flicked through until he had a vague idea what he was speaking about. He had never 'debated' before but he knew an argument inside and out. Mr Adams stood them opposite each other and started the debate.

"I will be playing the president and thus the moderator of the debate. Speaking time is 3 minutes, nothing physical boys." he said with a pointed look at Jefferson. Alex wasn't slightly surprised that Tommy had a history for heated debates. He got pretty aggressive when they had argued when living together.

"Mr Jefferson you may start." Tommy nodded and grinned.

"Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we fought for these ideal we shouldn't settle for less. These are wise words, enterprising men quote 'em, don't act surprised you guys 'cause I wrote 'em!" Alex rolled his eyes. Tommy always was flamboyant and arrogant but he was still fun when he had someone to keep him in check.

"Yeah but Hamilton forgets, his plan would have the government assume state debts." Tommy stopped for a second as if to check this was what Alex was planning so he nodded. Tommy smiled, taking a step closer to Alex so he was only 3 feet away before addressing the crowd of waiting kids instead of Alex.

"Now place your bets as to who that benefits, the very seat of government where," he swung back to face Alex, right up close now, almost on top of Alex, showing of his far superior height. "Hamilton sits!"

"NOT TRUE!" Alex yelled. Thomas stepped back and bent to Alex's level so he looked him in the eye.

"Ooh if the shoe fits wear it!" he stood straight again and faced the crowd. "If New York's in debt why should Virginia bear it? Uhh our debts are paid I'm afraid, don't tax the south 'cause we got it made in the shade. In Virginia we plant seeds in the ground, we create you just wanna move our money around." he shot an accusatory glare at Alex who stuck out his tongue. This "financial plan" is an outrageous demand." he made speech marks and rolled his eyes, emphasising how useless he thought it was. "And it's too many damn pages for any man to understand!" he pointed at Alex's overflowing binder of notes and laughed. "Stand with me in the land of the free and pray to god we never see Hamilton's candidacy. Look when Britain taxed our tea, we got frisky. Imagine what's gonna happen when you try to tax our whisky?" Thomas bent right in Alex's face and practically spat the last sentence. Adams looked like he wanted to intervene but Madison shook his head and just gently pulled Thomas back. Alex wasn't bothered by Thomas' closeness; he had lived with him for months and knew he would never get properly violent. Nothing compared to Lee. Mind, very few people other than Eacker could be compared to Lee. Alex waited for Adams' nod before he started.

"Thomas, that was a real nice declaration." he said, patting Jefferson's shoulder and Thomas grinned, amazed he had won this already. Alex spun around 'accidentally' flicking Jefferson's nose as he said "Welcome to the present we're running a real nation. Would you like to join us? Or stay mellow doing whatever the hell it is you do in Monticello?!" he spun around with his arms out in an exasperated but amused gesture. "If we assume the debts the union gets a new line of credit, a financial diuretic how do you not get it? If we're aggressive and competitive the union gets a boost you'd rather give it a sedative?" Alex asked slowly, like he was talking to an unintelligent child not the reigning debating champion. Now Alex grinned and Thomas stepped back. He knew this meant Alex was about to absolutely wreck him. "A civics lesson from a slaver? Hey neighbour, your debts are paid 'cause you don't pay for labour. 'We plant seeds in the south, we create.'" Alex mimicked Jefferson's southern accent as he spoke Jefferson's line. "Yeah keep ranting, we know who's REALLY doing the planting." Alex was right close to Thomas, right in his face and he shoved him backwards. Adams grabbed his arms and Madison stepped forwards to help Thomas but he grinned and stepped forwards again, waving Adams off. Alex grinned.

"And another thing mr. 'age of enlightenment' don't lecture me about the war, you didn't fight in it! You think I'm frightened of you man? I almost died in the trench, while you was off getting high with the French!" Alex spat this and knew only Jefferson would understand the double meaning to his words. He knew that Daveed Diggs had spent all of the war in France while LMM was fighting the English. But Thomas had also left him to go to France while he almost died with Eacker. Everyone looked confused but agreed. Only Thomas looked shell-shocked for a few seconds then looked down sadly, knowing nothing he could say would make it better. Alex continued, knowing his time was almost up.

"Thomas Jefferson always hesitant with the president," he gestured at Adams who just looked horrified. "Reticent there isn't a plan he doesn't jettison. Madison," James looked up quickly, as did Thomas. "You're mad as a hatter son," James coughed into his handkerchief and Alex laughed, "Take your medicine. Damn you're in worse shape than the national debt is in! Sittin' there useless as two shits hey turn around, bend over I'll show you where my shoe fits!" He declared and probably would have followed through on if Adams hadn't stepped in, sending them both outside. They turned and headed for the same door.

"Not the same way! Jefferson, that door, Hamilton, that one." He pointed to opposite doors in the room and they scowled but obediently walked out.


	9. Chapter 9: fools who run their mouths

My name is Aaron. I am 15 years old. It has been 4 months since I spoke. I write a lot though, and have learnt sign language and Morse code. It used to be that I was quiet, then I stopped speaking altogether and now I can't speak at all. I'm at school for one more year then I can leave since i skipped a few years. I hope being mute won't make it harder to get a job but I'll have to deal with that as it comes. I don't have many friends; no one could be bothered with me when I stopped speaking. I've become invisible, it's not that I really am, it's just that people have gotten used to not seeing me. And if no one sees you, are you really there at all? I have read the entire library, as well as the local one. Books are my friends, because when I cry they never laugh. They never ask why I'm silent or avoid me because I'm weird. With them, I can be just as invisible as the Weasley's flying car and it's nice.

I should say it was nice. We got a new student today and he ruined everything. His name is Alex and he is everything I used to be. I had him first in english and it was amazing to watch him so clearly scared and yet he remained calm while dealing with the scariest teacher in the school. Mr Eacker is not one to be taken lightly yet Alex dealt with him calmly and rationally. But something happened during recess. I saw him dammit limp into science. He hid it well but I could instantly see the shine of cheap makeup used too thickly. Which suggested he he'd met the other colourful character of the year. Charles Lee was the most dangerous kid in the school, yet alex didn't seem particularly hurt. For a kid who had just dealt with lee, that meant one thing. Given who Alex was dealing with, the fact that he was upright meant either Lee was getting soft or Alex had experience with people like Charlie. I'm betting it's not the first option either. Charlie is a menace; he's been terrorising kids all through high school for years. None of the teachers know, we're all to scared to tell. A kid grassed once and was in hospital for 2 weeks. He still can't speak since Charlie found out and stopped him speaking forever. It's annoying sometimes, but he rarely notices the difference. Needles to say he never crossed Charlie again. I know I should stop talking in 3rd person but I find it helps to distance myself. I have physically healed, but my mouth is still empty both mentally and physically. No one realises how much their tongue does for them until someone cuts it out. But I manage. I miss the debating most of all. I started school as a strong kid, I would argue until my voice broke and I had to stop. Now, I can't speak at all. My writing is insanely fast though, so that helps. I'm sorry about the short sentences but it's natural now. I've been at the same school nearly 11 years now. Charlie joined the same day and we became friends. He was nicer in year 1, and I was more outgoing and we got along well. Then he got dark, started picking on kids even when he was only 8 or 9. I left him with his friends and sat with some other people but no one wanted me. Charlie might as well have branded me the mark of being 'one of those people' left. So I read in the library. I had finished every book by year 5 so i moved to the senior library. But Charlie got annoyed that I had left. He started picking on me, small at first and nothing i couldn't deal with. I'd bring two lunches under the assumption he would take one and i could hide and eat the other in the library. For a while it worked and I was happy. The librarians loved me, I could do anything there. Then in year 7 it became physical, a slap here or there, kicking under the table stuff like that. I'd have to wear long socks in summer to hide the bruises along my legs.

The first time I got 'beaten up' was in year 9. It took me nearly an hour to regain consciousness and another hour to walk. And I only had a split lip and a few gut punches. Looking back, I was almost soft. It makes me laugh when i think how bad i thought that was. It took until year 10 before he broke my rib and at that I knew it had to stop. I told the principal, they investigated but no one believed them. Charlie had a solid alibi made by half the year . I knew it was all based on threats but it worked and I was dismissed as having 'wasted teachers time'. So I was annoyed but I thought it was over right. I had tried to get it to stop but they ignored me. Hopefully Charlie would take it as a warning that the teachers were watching him. Note the words thought and hopefully. I've stopped assuming and hoping since. Because it didn't make it better. He found out it was me and 20 minutes later I was mute. All it took was two guys and a pair of scissors and I can never speak again. I don't really mind though, it wasn't much of a change. I never spoke anyway except for telling the principal what happened. That was probably the first time i had spoken in 4 months maybe? 5? But i noticed more how my name became a warning. If someone questioned Charlie all it took was a quiet "burr" and they would do anything he told them. I don't think anyone knows specifically what happened, but everyone knows the reason I don't speak is because of Charlie.

Sometimes I miss talking and laughing. Now it hurts to smile but it was more painful when I didn't, I know he's taken this from me so I smile all the time. Its ironic. My advice when I was younger was always talk less, smile more and now I can't talk at all. Now all I need is a surgery that'll leave me like the joker and I'll be a prophet.

After that Charlie mostly left me alone. He said it wasn't as fun when they couldn't beg so he started telling others to leave me alone. Now no one will talk to me. But that's ok with me. But he didn't even give Alex one day. Not one, and Alex will go home from his first day of school with bruises and possibly a broken rib. And it's not his first time either.

I don't know whether I should talk to him or not. I should warn him what Charlie is capable of but if he's seen with me that might make it worse for him. I just don't want anyone to get hurt. Why can't Charlie just leave everyone alone. I mean I know that's like asking Heather Chandler to be kind and caring or the hunchback of Notre Dame to stand straight but it would make it so much easier. I just don't want anyone to get hurt.


	10. Chapter 10: hate the sin love the sinner

Alex wandered around, trying to find Jefferson but unable to, simply ending up lost. He was about to officially declare himself lost when there was a tap on his shoulder. He jumped back and around, hands already rising into fists. A kid stood there, much younger than him, maybe 14 but he looks kind. He raises his hands, trying to show that he's not going to hurt him. Alex drops his hands.

"Sorry man you scared me. Can I help you?" The kid smiled and grabbed a notebook from his pocket. He wrote quickly then showed it to alex, offering his hand.

'Burr'. They shook and Alex looked closely.

"You're mute." he said. Burr nodded shyly, looking ashamed. Alex kept talking.

"Oh I'm sorry, that was so mean. I'm really sorry." Burr shushed him with a finger on his lips. He quickly signed to Alex, telling him it was fine and that he had been for a few months. To his surprise Alex nodded.

"Not from birth? Uncommon. Sorry I'm being insensitive aren't I?" Alex said quickly. Burr shook his head, continuing to sign, amazed Alex knew.

'No, not birth. You're fine, in fact, it's nice to talk to someone. No one else in the school knows sign language so I haven't interacted in months.' Alex frowned.

"Hey can I get some advice? You seem smart, what year are you in?" Burr signed.

'Yours. We share english and science.' Alex's eyes widened.

"Either you haven't hit puberty or you skipped. Damn you're smart. Anyway, you know a kid named Charles Lee?" Alex asked. Burr growled.

'Yes. I do.' He signed with quick sharp movements showing his annoyance. Alex's eyes widened as he put two and two together.

"He's the reason you're mute isn't he. Fuck what did he do?" Alex asked, rushing forwards to give Burr a hug. Burr hugged him, then gently pushed back. Alex let go, and Burr explained quickly.

'Used to be friends in yr1, left when he got violent. He got annoyed, started picking on me, went to principal in term 4 last year and then the next week he came for me, held me down and cut my tongue out. It stopped me talking i guess…' Alex looked ready to cry.

"I never knew of anyone else. I think he mentioned you a few times, but never like that bad." Alex said quietly. Burr looked confused, indicating for Alex to explain.

"I'm a foster kid. I lived with him a little over a year." Burr was shocked, then a mutual admiration passed between them, of two people who have experienced immeasurable pain from the same person. Alex nodded, and smiled shyly.

"We should talk more often." Burr laughed.

'Yeah. I should talk at all.' he signed, the bitterness in his face clear. Alex sighed and hugged him and Burr found himself hugging back. Alex felt suddenly responsible for the younger child, like it was his job to protect him. They pulled apart and alex asked,

"Do you know where the lockers are? I'm lost." Burr nodded and pulled him gently along, slipping his hand onto Alex's. Alex smiled, feeling like the boys older and younger brother at the same time, following him blindly but also with a responsibility to look after him.

Within a few minutes Burr had shown Alex back to his locker. He left him with a last,

'If you need any meds or supplies because you don't want to tell Laf, tell me.' Alex nodded.

"Sure. Thanks Burr." Burr nodded and left quietly, disappearing instantly in the crowd of students. Alex waited outside his last class for someone to come. He only had Laurens in this one, but he trusted him enough for a simple art class. Alex wasn't good at art but he enjoyed it. It was like writing, but with pictures. John came soon, sliding into the last seat next to Alex. They had to draw something, a memory from childhood. John smiled and started instantly but Alex wasn't sure. He didn't want anyone to know anything about his childhood. Eventually the teacher walked over and looked at his blank sheet.

"Why haven't you started?"

"i-I don't know what to do…" he said quietly. The teacher sat down.

"You're Alex aren't you? I'm Abigail Adams." Alex nodded.

"We were given some information on you, mostly me, not many teachers know but some of us understand what happened to to you. So try and pick a time that doesn't hurt too much, or better, pick one that makes you cry when you think about it, so you can draw it with a passion that will make it amazing whether or not you have skill." Alex nodded and smiles sadly, placing the pencil to the page. His eyes slid over to Laurens, where a rough turtle had been drawn, and John was now adding shading and detail. From his patience and the quality of the small area he had done, it was clearly going to be good. By the end of the period, Laurens' turtle was almost done, but alex had only done about a quarter of his, it was impossible to tell what it was, though the teacher tried hard. It was a town of some description, but other than that there was nothing. It was then the end of the day, and Alex walked to the designated spot where he had promised to meet Laf. It still hurt to walk, but years of experience had meant he could feel less, and hid the pain that shot through his chest when he moved.

Laf bounced up a few minutes later, grabbing Alex's hand and almost dragging him along before Alex caught up with him, wincing slightly as he struggled to match the tall boys strides. God, why was everyone in this world so goddamn tall?! Laf had a one sided conversation, not noticing that Alex didn't even answer a single question, he just kept on talking. They got home and Laf stopped Alex.

"You should tell George what happened."

"What do you mean? I tripped after math but I'm fine." Alex assured him.

"We both know that's not even remotely true." Laf said, sounding concerned but slightly annoyed that Alex wasn't telling him the truth.

"You should really tell George."

"Tell me what?" George stuck his head up from behind a bush in the garden, looking puzzled. His hands were covered in dirt, as was his shirt. Alex looked utterly horrified, looking down the street for a second, obviously thinking about running. After realizing a short guy with a broken leg wasn't going to beat an obvious athlete like Laf, all training aside, he ran into the house, up the stairs and slammed and locked his door behind him. He curled up in the cupboard, biting back a scream of pain and crying. He hid in there until he could hear knocking on the door a few minutes later. He stayed silent and the knocking went away.

"Please come out soon though." was a quiet comment from George before he left. Alex packed his bag, write a note and slipped out his bedroom window. He wasn't heading anywhere in particular but eventually found himself outside jefferson's old house. The car was in the driveway and Alex grinned, ran up the steps before remembering his pain and gasping. He still managed to knock on the door, an arrogant smirk plastered on his lips as he could hear jefferson singing as he bounced down the stairs to answer the door. Alex always marveled at how arrogant and obnoxious he acted, despite being quite gentle and caring inside. It was part of his persona now, and he couldn't change, but Alex had always felt special, being one of the lucky few who saw the real side of Jefferson.

Jefferson slammed open the door, and scowl back on his face before seeing who it was and grinning.

"Are you gonna stand there all fucking day or am I coming in?" Alex spat, a grin spreading over his face.

"After you sir!" Jefferson declared with a bow. Alex flipped him off but slowly walked in. Jefferson shut the door behind him, spinning around and lounging across a couch in the most 'i am awesome and you know it' way ever. It made Alex want to punch him but he just laughed. Jefferson was ALWAYS this flamboyant.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Jefferson said after a few seconds of silence.

"You know charlie lee? Well he kinda beat me up a little, nothing really just like a slap and one punch, but laf noticed and wanted me to tell george, and george overheard so I ran to my room, locked the door and slipped out the window." Alex said quietly. Jefferson nodded, but was clearly upset.

"He didn't give you one day? Jesus Christ."

"Why would he? It only took him half an hour last time." Alex spat, then his eyes widened.

"Oh god I said that out loud didn't i?"

"What do you mean last time?" jefferson asked. Alex sighed, and fidgeted nervously.

"Charlie, was my first foster family for a year. When i was 14 until i was 15 and a bit." Alex said quietly. Jefferson was horrified.

"Oh my god. You never told me about, anyone else. I thought I was the first." Jefferson said quietly, sitting bolt upright, no longer lounging.

"That's because I wanted you to think that." Alex said quietly. "But now I don't know what to do. I can't stay at the same school as him. I can't. I'll have to run away somewhere, I can survive on the streets but I wanted to say bye first. You've grown so much Frommie. I'll see you 'round." he was out the door before Jefferson could protest. It was only a few minutes walk to the Washingtons. Alex slipped back through his bedroom window, packing his bag quickly. He sat down and wrote a note, explaining briefly what happened. He apologised for leaving and told them to speak to jefferson, but not to blame him. Within a minute, he was outside, wandering around. He looked at his leg and found that it barely hurt, but he left the cast on in case. His chest would hurt for a while though, so he set off quickly, hoping to get away soon.

George decided that after an hour, it was time to try Alex again. He walked upstairs to find the door unlocked. He pushed it slowly open, not wanting to startle the scared kid but found his window open, and no trace of the boy in the room. His personal clothes were gone, as was his bag, but he had left everything that they had bought for him folded on the bed. He rushed in, yelling,

"Martha! Gil! Now!" they rushed in seconds later, seeing the empty room Martha looked so upset. Laf walked forwards and read the note, appearing calm despite shaking hands.

 _My dearest Washingtons,_

 _It is with regret that I inform you that recent developments have made me unable to live in this town. Please let me state that it is not at all your fault, and that you should not feel bad. I hope you do not follow me, please it is for the best. I cannot attend a school where those creatures that call themselves my teachers and classmates are. Feel free to talk to Jefferson, and Laf, be nice to him. He knows what is happening._

 _You were the best foster home ever. I had solid friends and felt safe. I didn't wake up wondering when I would next eat, and never wanted for anything. For this I thank you._

 _Love,_

 _Alexander_

Laf read it twice, as did George. Martha read the first sentence and started sobbing into George's shoulder. Laf stared, then looked at the folded clothes.

"Merde. He wasn't kidding." He looked at George, "I'm going to Jefferson's." and ran out the door. He arrived at Jefferson's house in a matter of minutes, sprinting as fast as possible. He slammed open the door.

"JEFFERSHIT! HERE! NOW!" jefferson ran down, and stopped.

"Care to explain where Alex is?" Thomas beckoned and Laf followed him into the living room. He instantly noticed that Thomas sat straight on a chair not lounging on a sofa. This was serious. Good.

"Where to start? When Alex lived with me for 4 months, I believed I was the first house. But I wasn't. I was the fourth. Before me, and I only found this out half an hour ago, he lived with an abusive family. He was beaten and had nine ribs broken in one day. This is where he gets the habit of belt on the fire and why he expects beating calmly. He stayed there a little more than a year."

"What does this have to do with anything?!" Laf interrupted.

"BECAUSE THE FAMILY IM TALKING ABOUT IS FUCKING CHARLES LEE! Laf, you've known him barely a week and this is how much you care? I knew him four months! He was like a freaking brother to me and now he's gone because of something I never knew about! I thought he trusted me,I thought that he was shy, but no, he was flinching because he thought I was going to break his ribs when he bumped into me!" then Jefferson did something Laf never thought he was even capable of doing. He broke into tears.

"I thought he was safe. When he said he was with you I was so relieved. You're an asshole, but you're kind ad caring and loving and that was what he needed. But I never knew about Lee." Laf hugged him.

"Why does he hate Mr Eacker? They looked like they knew each other." Thomas sniffed and tried to compose himself, attempting to gain back some of the superiority he usually held but he ended up shaking in Laf's arms.

"You know how he mentioned George, his most recent home. The one that burned him, beat him, didn't feed him, hated him, broke his leg, used him as a fucking ashtray? Yeah well that's your lovely english teacher. George Eacker." Laf looked ready the throw up.

"Merde.." he whispered and Jefferson nodded. "Yeah well now he's run away and we *sniff* can't find him." Jefferson hugged Laf, and they cried quietly together for a brother they had both lost. Eventually they stopped, and Jefferson looked to Laf.

"We should find him, and then talk to the principal. These people can't be allowed near other students." Laf nodded.

"Oui. We should." They stood slowly and walked back to the Washington's house. George and martha were on the phone to John's parents. They thanked him and ended the call, turning and almost jumping when they saw jefferson there with red rimmed eyes.

"Mr Jefferson?" Martha said, her voice shaking slightly. Laf rushed forwards.

"Mamon, he is a foster brother of Alex's and wants to help find him." Martha nodded, a hand in front of her face to try not to cry. Thomas stepped forward.

"Mrs Washington, it might be best to go out sooner rather than later if we are to find Alex quickly."

The Washingtons nodded and the four walked outside where John and Herc had just pulled up. (They were both on their p's and so legally allowed to drive.) They both jumped out of the cars and started talking all at once.

"Where-"

"How-"

"Is he-"

"SHUT UP!" Yelled Laf. the others fell silent instantly.

"Thank you. Alex has run away because of things we can discuss WHEN WE FIND HIM!" The others nodded.

"He's probably near here, he can't make it very far with a broken leg." The others nodded and split up, Jefferson with Laf and John with Herc.

John POV:

Me and herc walked for ages, i swear we covered half the city. We checked every corner, every pub, everywhere. It scared me, how quickly someone could go missing in this city. Alex was gone. We asked around, describing him to all the pub owners and everyone. I hoped we didn't have to involve the police, that wouldn't be good for Alex. He was a scared child, not a criminal. Eventually we walked back to the house, still looking behind every bin and every abandoned house. We got back, just at the same time laf and Jefferson walked up. We shook our heads and my heart dropped when Laf shook his.

Laf POV:

My face dropped as John shook his head. I still looked around, as though that might make him appear somewhere. He didn't. We walked silently inside but I silently prayed to Alex.

"Please come back. We can work something out but please come back." We sat, no one quite wanting to leave. Herc and John would have to go home soon but no one wanted to be the one to give up on Alex. eventually mon pere spoke.  
"Boys, it's getting late. I think it's time that you head home before it gets too dark." John looked about to protest but Herc grabbed his shoulder.

"No John. George is right." John nodded, but was still reluctant as he walked to the door with Herc. Jefferson nodded once.

"Sir, ma'am, I should return home as well." George and Martha nodded.

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow." I said, opening the door for him. Thomas walked slowly, hs haughty air long gone. He just looked sad and broken.

"I failed him." He said quietly. "He was my brother and I failed him. I left, and left him with that creature George, and now he's gone and there's nothing I can do." I did something I never thought I would do. I reached forwards ad hugged Jefferson, patting his shoulder gently. We hugged for a minute, but then Jefferson's phone buzzed with a message from his father.

"I should head home." I nodded.

"Tomorrow…" I said quietly and he nodded.


	11. Chapter 11: But little does he know

Alex was tired, but he had to keep moving. It was getting late and he needed somewhere to sleep for a night before moving on. He was glad he had brought his bags, in two days time he could go to the market with the toys he hadn't sold on his first morning. He found a quiet place in the park and was asleep in minutes. He hadn't slept in so long, he finally realised how exhausted he was. He slept for a while, but long before dawn he was up and moving, a long day's walk ahead of him. He stopped for a minute, pulling his backpack off his back and opening it, pulling out his street map from inside. He had market on it all the locations of the markets and found there was one where he was well know from his year with Eacker. It was a long walk away but he should make it by mid tomorrow.

Laf woke up, immediately noticing that he could hear no sound of getting ready next to him. Normally, Alex would have been awake at least an hour, sometimes two by the time he joined the land of the living at 7. It was scary, the silence. No muttering as he got ready, no quiet humming in the shower. There was silence from the rest of the house. He got ready, knowing the others would be at school early to talk about Alex. He packed his bag quickly, getting an apple before heading out the door. Martha and George were already at work and he knew they wouldn't be back for a long time. Luckily it was Friday so he'd have all weekend to find Alex with everyone else.

He got to school at least an hour early but found everyone already waiting. John, Herc and Jefferson were already there and yet despite Jefferson's presence there were no raised voices. Everyone seemed sad and despondent. But when Jefferson moved out of the way it was clear there were other people there. 3 beautiful girls were also there, and Laf smiled as he rushed over.

"Angelica, Peggy, Eliza! My lovely Schuyler sisters!" The tallest turned, her pale coral skirt swishing behind her, a scowl on her face.

"Lafayette." She said shortly, rolling her eyes before breaking into a grin. She ran over and hugged him.

"We're going to find him." Laf nodded before a loud cough interrupted him. Laf smiled at the other girl, her blue eyes almost glowing as she smiled at him.

"Hey Betsy! How are you?" Eliza smiled.

"Well enough thank you." Laf laughed, Eliza had always been quite proper. She was their age, Angelica one year older, despite being in their year, and-

"And what am I? Chicken feet?" Peggy called, breaking Laf's train of thought.

"Hey Peggy! I'm just, sad. It's been so long where have you guys been?" Peggy rolled her eyes.

"Dad sent us to some school for a week to learn how to be a lady. Thank God we got out a day early when we heard and dad let us come back to help." Laf smiled. Peggy, the youngest, was 13, had a fiery temper and would probably beat most boys in Laf's year in a fight. Angelica was never physical, but she had brought many sexists to tears with her tongue. Jefferson almost included. He had never cried but he had been silenced in shame, something that NEVER happened normally.

They managed to stumble through classes, noticing the silence in debating and the searching eyes of eacker who noticed he wasn't there. It was all Laf could do not to punch him and Jefferson only just managed to go through math without stabbing Lee with a compass needle. Every class they could hear snickering from Lee or Frederich, making concentrating so hard with an empty seat always next to one of them. Lunch was a quiet affair, no one wanting to bring up the obvious issue. Eventually laf sighed and decided to face the obvious.

"Okay guys, where would you all go? He been here before with George so probably knows a lot about the area." John jumped to his feet.

"Hey Laf, he's on the street right?" Laf nodded slowly, unsure where John was heading.

"Well he'll have to find some way to make money," he said, smiling slightly.

"The toys." Herc whispers and John nods excitedly.

"He'll be at the Saturday markets." Angelica said, smiling and laf nodded.

"So, we can go along and find him and bring him home and talk." Laf was almost bouncing by now, jumping up and down in his seat while Herc tried to calm him.

"I think we should go rather than you guys because otherwise as soon as he sees you he may run. He doesn't know us." Angelica said and Laf nodded.

"Sure. But call us as SOON as you find him." he said, suddenly serious and Angelica nodded.

"You are an Angel thatyousoomuch!" he said, reaching over the table to hug Angelica and Eliza. Peggy was in the other campus, being a junior but he knew she would be happy.

"But we still have to address the other issue. The reason he ran…" John said slowly. Laf nodded but frowned.

"One thing at a time mon ami. We find him, then we can talk." everyone nodded and dispersed, ready for next class. John gritted his teeth, trying not to hear Lee's calls from the back of the class.

"Where's the freak? Did he do us all a favour and die or something?" Came his snarky tone. Jefferson hissed, but didn't respond, knowing that if he did he would probably end up punching someone.

By the afternoon, they all met up outside the gate, ¾'s of the revolutionary set, ⅓ of the democratic republicans and all the Schuyler sisters. Jefferson looked awkward and slightly out of place. The sisters often sat with Laf, Herc and John whenever they could and spend most of the weekends with them but Jefferson never interacted with them, more than telling them they were stupid and had bad opinions.

"Hey." Peggy said, running up from the junior school, red face red and warm. Laf nodded and they all went back to the Washington's house. The sisters' father wouldn't even notice, they spent many afternoons there and John and Herc practically lived with Laf they were there so often.

"We can go to the market tomorrow. I don't think it's wise to try and find him now, besides he may just run and hurt himself." Eliza said calmly, once they were seated on Laf's floor. Martha and George would be home around 5 and they wouldn't mind at all.

"Mais, every minute he could be getting sick, or lost, or something!" Laf cried from his place in Herc's lap. Herc twisted his fingers in Laf's hair trying to calm him.

"I know Laf, but we can't go walking in the dark looking for him. If he doesn't want to be found he won't be." John said quietly, his head resting in his hands. He seemed to have been affected badly for someone who had only known Alex a few days.

"So it's agreed, everyone can stay here and then you three will go to the markets tomorrow and find Alex. he should be out front, selling his toys." laf said quietly. Jefferson was silent, wanting to make everyone feel better but knowing sympathy from him was too weird. He nodded and left with a quiet 'good night'.

Angelica woke early, waking Eliza and Peggy. Eliza was smiling instantly, starting to get dressed. By the third shake Peggy still had the pillow over her face, refusing to enter the realm of the living.

"We have to go find Alex." Peggy was up instantly, dressed minutes later. The sisters met by the doorway 10 minutes later.

"Dad, we're heading to find Alex." Eliza said, poking her head around the study door. Her father nodded, not looking up from his work. She sighed but joined her sisters again and they walked outside.

Alex woke bright and early in the morning, at around 5 he thought. He walked quickly to the nearest market, there seemed to be a huge crowd and he hoped for some good money. He set up, lining up some toys outside. Some girls walked up just as he finished setting up and looked at the toys. They looked pretty old, maybe 18,17 and 13. The oldest he vaguely recognised but dismissed it until she looked at him.

"Stevens?" he looked up quickly.

"Yes ma'am. Can I help you?" She looked shocked.

"Hi I'm Angelica. This is Eliza and Peggy." Peggy was the youngest, Eliza the middle and Angelica the oldest. Now he remembered, Laf had debated her at school.

"I ran away." Alex said quietly. Angelica tried to look shocked and Eliza called Laf, telling him where they were. Alex could hear the relief in his voice. He snatched the phone before Eliza could say where exactly they were and ended the call.

"You can't tell him. I have to go." Angelica put out one hand and stopped him.

"Nu-uh. You stay right there. We wait for Laf, and then you explain to everyone why you just ran away." Alex nodded sheepishly, Angelica was scary. Eliza put a hand on Angelica's arm.

"Easy Angel. Be nice to him." she turned to Alex and smiled prettily. "Can I have my phone please?" Alex reluctantly handed it over and sighed when she called Laf back, giving him the address. Alex slumped, packing his toys away along with the money. Peggy pushed forwards and picked up one, admiring it.

"OHMYGOD THIS IS SO CUTEEEE!" she squeaked, looking at one of the unicorns. Alex smiled sheepishly then jumped as a car spun to a stop next to him and Laf, Herc, John and Jefferson got out. They all started talking and Alex crouched down, wrapping his hands around his head at the loud noises. He started shaking until Angelia screamed,

"SHUT! UP!" Everyone stopped talking as Eliza bent down and wrapped her arms around a shaking Alex. He was unresponsive, shaking, curled in a tight ball or tears and fear. Eliza sat with him while Angelica glared at everyone else, scaring them to silence. After a minute or so, Alex looked up and nodded.

"I-I-I'm sorry. Please, please don't hurt me..." he said quietly, not quite meeting Eliza's gaze. She didn't say anything, but the shock and hurt were clear on her face. She silently helped Alex to his feet, silencing the torrent of questions that were clearly forming on Laf and John's lips. She walked him Herc's car, sat him down and drove off. She knew Laf's was big enough to fit the others.

They drove in relative silence, which Alex liked. He didn't have to explain himself to someone he had never met. She was just, there. He knew if he wanted to talk he could, and if he didn't, he didn't have to. But Laf would make him talk, as would John and George. Alex's head snapped up as a loud sound bounced through the car, until he realised it was a phone call coming through the Bluetooth speaker. Eliza pressed answer.

"Hey doll." Came an all too familiar voice.

"Hey..." Eliza said quietly. "Sorry, you mind if I call you in a minute? I got company..."

"Sure thing doll, I'll see you later." Eliza nodded, then remembered it was a phone call,

"Yeah cool." She hung up and Alex leaned forward.

"Was that Maria? Reynolds?" Eliza looked at him sharply.

"How do you know Maria?" Eliza asked quietly, concern clear in her voice.

"Can we call her back for a second, we used to be friends and I want to make sure she's okay." Eliza nodded, not sure where this was going but Alex seemed pretty shaken. She pressed that call button and Maria picked up instantly.

"Hey doll, you all good."

"No, I got someone who wants to talk to you." Eliza looked at Alex and nodded.

"Hey Riah, its Alex." There was a sharp intake of breath.

"Lexi? Shit, fuck, shit, are you okay?" Maria sounded scared out of her mind.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm with laf." There was a sigh of relief from the other end. "How bout you? Have you moved here? Like, close?"

"Yeah, we're a ten minute walk from your house." Alex swore.

"Has James taken you out for popsicles recently?" Maria sighed.

"4 times, maybe 5. And 3 theme parks." Alex was almost in tears.

"Fuck Riah, how much are school fees?" Alex asked, Eliza was super confused by the topic changes, and why Maria seemed so upset about going to theme parks.

"300-400." Maria said quietly.

"Can you be at the Washington's in ten? We're almost home.." Alex said.

"Sure. See u then Lexi."

"Bye Riah." Alex ended the call, conscious of Eliza staring at him with confusion on her face.

"What?"

"I'll explain at home." Eliza nodded slowly.

"Sure.." They pulled up outside the Washington's and got out, Alex moving slowly. It had hit him finally him how dead he was. He almost swayed as he thought of what he was going to have to tell everyone, about Lee and Eacker, and Seabury and Reynolds. He didn't even want to think about Reynolds. Laf had clearly then a shorter route as his car was already in the driveway, empty.

"It'll be fine, I'm here." Eliza said, gently taking Alex's hand and leading him to the door. She knocked and it opened, Martha's worried face behind it. She pulled Alex into a hug.

"Don't ever do that again." She whispered. Alex nodded and she let go. "Come on, let have a chat." Alex nodded quickly and stumbled after Martha, dizzy with worry. Everyone else as already sitting on the couches in a U-formation opposite a couch. It was empty and Alex felt more like he was being arrested than helped. He sat, shaking on the edge of the couch, hands clasped in his lap trying not to chew off his lip. He looked around, mentally ticking everyone off in his head.

George: worried but trying to look calm.

Martha: almost in tears in relief.

Laf: slightly angry, anxious and worried.

John: scared.

Herc: worried, trying to comfort Laf.

Angelica: clam.

Eliz: sad, worried

Peggy: excited to know what the hell is going on.

Jefferson: emotionless but clearly sad.

Alex sighed, unsure where to start. He didn't want to have to talk about any of it, lest of all eacker, lee and Reynolds but he had to. They wouldn't stand for anything else.

"Iwasborninthecarribeanmymotherdiedwheniwas7myfatherleftwhenIwas6." George coughed.

"Slow down son." Washington said calmly. Alex's eyes flashed angrily at the name but he sat back.

"I was born in the Caribbean, my father left when I was 6, my mum died when I was 7. I stayed with my cousin for a few month before he shot himself." There was a slight gasp from Eliza but everyone else was silent.

"So anyway, I lived on the streets for a year or so before a hurricane came. My brother Philip had been adopted so he was fine, but I found a cave and stayed there. I came out a few days later and found that everyone was dead. All of them. The entire island was silent. I walked to where I knew Pip's house was and found him. He was dead." Alex stopped and took a breath but showed no sign of emotion.

"So anyway, I moved to America with the little money mum had left me, joining the foster system here. Since then, I've lived in 6 houses, this being the sixth. The first was a little over a year, with the lovely Mr James Lee and his son Charlie. I believe you know them." Alex said, still devoid of emotion. George frowned and held up a hand.

"Gil, John, Herc, who is this lee child? Is he the one you used to complain about?" Laf nodded and looked to Herc.

"Charle lee is the king of the school. Everyone, teachers included, fear him. His dad is some important person and he has all the power in the world. He bullies and picks on every kid he has an issue with. He's broken more ribs and given more black eyes that John has hairs on his head." Laf said as John snickered lightly, his wild curls everywhere.

"I'd be surprised if someone could survive an hour with him when he's angry, but a year?"

"One year, 2 months, a week, 4 days and 3 and a half hours." Alex muttered. George blinks in surprise.

"Very specific."

"I didn't like him. Counting kept me calm. He used to hit me and make me count, or starve me and make me count the hours without food. The counting gave me something to focus on." Alex said quietly but calmly, not a crack in his voice.

"Okay…" Angelica said, holding Peggy and Eliza's hands. Peggy's smile had dropped, she seemed about to cry.

"Next was Seabury. He's gone i think and he was alright. I didn't eat much but that was it. He was bearable, just really mean." George nodded.

"When you say much, what do you mean?"

"About 2 bread rolls a week." Alex answered, staring at the floor. "More if I took his comments."

"What kinda comments?" John asked, his southern accent more pronounced the more worried he got.

"Just the usual. 'Your mother was probably happy she died so she didn't have to deal with you, you're just a fucking bastard who doesn't even deserve to be alive, Philip should have survived not you, why do you care she's dead she's just a whore.'" Alex shrugged. Eliza gasped, covering her mouth, eyes shining with tears.

"Then there were two more in 6 months. Elizabeth Ross, she was amazing, but she got sick and couldn't take care of me any more so I moved in with Jefferson. Stayed there about 4 months but had to leave cuz of Mr Jefferson's job." Thomas looked ashamed but Alex shook his head.

"Not your fault, you couldn't choose where he worked." Jefferson nodded but still looked ashamed.

"Then who? That's only 4…" Angelica asked, fairly sure she didn't want to know the answer.

"Then Mr Eacker." Alex said quietly. "He was the most recent, and the worst. I c-c" he voice cracked and he shook, covering his face with his hands. He sighed.

"I can't talk about him.." John nodded and Laf petted his shoulder comfortingly.

"Will you show papa what you showed me and Jean?" Alex looked horrified but slowly nodded. He had worn long-sleeves and long pants every day since arriving to hide this but he sighed and took off his shirt. Martha gasped, covering her mouth with a hand as she took in the bruising, scarring and mostly the burns across his back. The perfectly round cigarette burns dotted his back, as many of them as John had freckles.

"187." Alex said, pointing to the dots along his arms, legs and back. "As I said it keeps me calm." He pulled his shirt back on calmly and sat down, staring at the ground, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes. Everyone sat in silence for a minute before they all started talking.

George: "son, are you okay? Why didn't you tell us?"

Laf: "Oh mon ami, mon ami."

Martha: "Oh darling! You poor thing!"

John: "Fuck."

Jefferson: *silence*

Peggy: "Where is he? WHERE'S THAT BASTARD?"

Eliza: *wipes away tear*

Angelica: *holding back Peggy* "Is there anything we can do?"

Alex shook his head.

"I'm fine, don't attack him Peggy. I survived when it happened, not like it can get worse right?" he snickered, smiling softly. They all jumped as there was knocking on the door.

"Hey doll you in there?" A muffled voice asked.

"Yeah one sec." Eliza answered, coming to the door and opening it. Maria was there, a smile on her face, though she looked anxiously past her shoulder to Alex. She quickly kissed eliza then rushed past.

"Lexi? You alright?" Alex nodded.

"Yeah sure Riah. All good." She nodded, biting her lip.

"Okay… sure.. Whatcha talkin bout?" Alex frowned.

"Just, ya know. They wanted the run down on Eacker, Lee and Seabury." Maria gasped.

"You told them? All of it?" Alex blinked twice quickly then nodded. Maria frowned.

"You should." Alex blinked twice again. Maria did 3 times then Alex winked. Maria blinked 3 times again, more forcefully now and Alex sighed. George cleared his throat.

"Umm.. do I want to know what just happened?"

"No." Alex said at the exact moment Maria said "Yes." They glared at each other for a second more then Alex looked down, dropping his shoulders.

"Popsicles AND theme parks!" Maria said.

"THEME PARKS?!" Alex screeched, his voice raising a few octaves. Maria nodded.

"Yeah. I will if you want…" Alex nodded.

"Sure." Maria smiled softly and walked over the chairs, pulling one next to Alex. he felt comforted by the presence of a friend.

"You know Eacker? His best friend is my adoptive father." They all nodded, it was no secret that Maria was adopted; she had been as long as they had know her.

"Yeah, how do I say this? Eacker and Reynolds aren't the nicest, you know how James can be a little, rough sometimes, yeah Eacker was worse. But he told you that.." Alex was look more and more scared the further along the story she went.

"Just tell them quickly." Alex muttered.

"Popsicles means...it means having sex with the foster father." Maria said. "It didn't used to happen until he met James and you know what James is.." It was also no secret that James Reynolds owned some girls and that he rented them out and took most of the money. Martha gasped.

"So he...he..." Alex nodded.

"So when Alex asked if he had taken you for popsicles?"

"I meant how many times a week was he raping her yes." Alex said quietly.

"Fuck maria!" Angelica said loudly, hugging the other girl.

"I'm not done." Maria said quietly.

"What more can there be? Short of him selling you.." Realisation dawned in Angelica's eyes. "Oh he did not. He did not sell you for money."

"And Alex." Maria said quietly, like it was her fault not James'.

"That's what theme parks meant." Eliza said quietly, disbelief in her voice. "But you said 3."

"Yeah. 3 times a week." Maria said calmly. "Used to be more before Alex left and he became worried someone had caught on. He sold most of the girls but kept me." Maria didn't seem upset by the action, but at the fact Alex was put through it. Eliza just hugged her, Angelica and Peggy glaring at no one in particular simply expressing their pure fury that someone had experienced this. Alex sighed.

"You see why I didn't want to say anything…?" He said quietly, sounding just broken and sad.

"Yeah. And now this man is your English teacher?" George said calmly though his hands were shaking with rage.

"No. Eacker is my teacher, Reynold's sold me."

"Yeah but they both took you for popsicles." Maria cut in. Alex sighed again.

"True." He looked at George, not quite meeting his eyes. "Can I go to my room sir? I didn't really sleep last night." George nodded.

"Of course son, see you in a few hours." Alex bit his lip at the title but nodded, heading up the stairs. He could hear discussion immediately break out behind him.

"How come you never told us Maria?" Eliza asked, still not letting go of the hug.

"I couldn't doll." Maria said, pulling back and looking her in the eye. "How could I let you think that of me? It makes me a whore." She said sadly.

"It doesn't Maria. It makes you strong." Eliza said, gently holding Maria's chin so she couldn't look away. Maria glanced down but still mumbled

"Okay." Washington walked over, looking calmly at Maria.

"We need to do something about your situation Maria." he says, resting a hand on her shoulder. Maria flinched slightly but nodded as soon as George removed the hand. She shook her head.

"No sir. It keeps me safe. When I let him, and come home with money he's happy so that keeps me safe." Maria said quietly.

"What if you moved in with us?" Angelica asked. Maria looked at her, shocked.

"Y-you mean it?"

"Yeah," Angelica said, "of course." maria smiled.

"I would love to. Can I stay with you tonight? I told him I was working but he'll be angry when I don't bring any money home." Angelica nodded.

"Course." she said calmly, looping an arm around Maria's shoulder. The sisters plus one left, leaving the washington's, herc, jefferson and John. It was interesting how quickly Laf had become a Washington, having only joined them a few years ago, nearly 4 now, when his parents had died in a political rally. They sat in silence for a while, looking around trying to process the information they had been told.

"So.. mostly, it is vital one of you is ALWAYS with him. If he's alone with Eacker or Lee for a minute who knows what will happen. His mental state is fragile enough, he doesn't need this too. I don't want him out of your sight for a second okay?" George said, mostly looking at Laf and John and Herc. He couldn't impose rules on Jefferson, they weren't close enough. But all 4 kids nodded quickly.

"Absolutely." Laf said quietly. "do you mind if we go to bed? I think there is much we should talk about." george nodded.

"I'll text your parents." The boys nodded and followed Laf upstairs. Alex's door was locked but they could hear him rolling around, muttering. He sounded to be in the middle of a nightmare but the locked door meant they couldn't get in.

"George? Alex is having a nightmare but the door is locked." Laf said. George came upstairs, key in hand. He normally respected the boys privacy but he didn't want the kid to be scared. He opened the door quietly, indicating for the boys to leave. Hey quickly scurried next door as he went into Alex's room. He gently touched the boy, who flinched back.

"Alex, alex wake up." he whispered, lightly shaking the boy. Alex jumped awake, going from asleep to sitting bolt upright, eyes wide and searching. They settle on George, who is sitting on the bed next to him. He shrinks back, holding up his hands to cover his face.

"Please sir, don't hurt me sir." George lowered Alex's hands.

"Alex, it's George." Alex drew in a harsh breath.

"Please sir, don't hurt me. I promise I won't fall asleep again." George frowned then almost smacked himself.

"Its George Washington, not Eacker. Remember? You're allowed to sleep." Alex looked at him closely, trying to make him out in the dark. George stood and turned on the lamp, illuminating the room. Alex inspects him closely then relaxes slightly. He still doesn't sit back or lie down but he drops his shoulders slightly so he no longer looks like he was just electrocuted.

"Sorry Mr washington. I'm sorry you had to come in, I'm fine really." Alex said. George sighed and sat down, trying to pretend he didn't notice the way Alex shrank back.

"Alexander. I won't ask you to forget what has happened, that's what's made you...you. But I want you to know that is behind you. You will be with us for the next year and I am promising you now, we will never hurt you, take sleep or food from you. Unless you do something really stupid like get in a punch up at school, you will never be in trouble. You have to realise, Martha and I, and the boys too, will do anything for you. We will bleed and fight for you. You have fought for yourself and others for so long, you can stop. We are your parents, and you are our son. It is our job to keep you safe." George said calmly, not dropping eye contact. Alex nodded silently. He didn't quite believe George, he never did, but he seemed so genuine that it was hard to remind himself not to trust him.

Trust no one…


End file.
